


Heart of Gold Mag 7 Style

by gemspegasus



Category: Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-27
Updated: 2011-11-27
Packaged: 2017-10-26 14:31:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/284373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemspegasus/pseuds/gemspegasus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AN's: Fusion of the Mag 7 characters set in the Firefly episode of "Heart of Gold" written by Brett Matthews which was adapted for the Mag 7 characters. References and characters from the Mag 7 S1 episodes, “SafeCracker” “Manhunt” and "Working Girls" and S2 episodes, "China Town" and "Sins of the Past" are used in the story. There are scenes and dialogue taken directly from the "Firefly" episode of "Heart of Gold." "Fancy Dan" - a flashily dressed man. Gorram - expletive, AKA "god damn", used to express extreme displeasure, anger or surprise...found at the Firefly lexicon. Jonah-Eh's name found at:<br/>http://www.themagnificentseven.com/script/manhunt.html#cast</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heart of Gold Mag 7 Style

**Author's Note:**

> Background: Three years ago, Chris Larabee and Buck Wilmington fought in the rebellion against the Alliance. Their home planet and Chris's wife and son, Sarah and Adam had been obliterated by the "Reavers" - a cannabilistic group of humans. Chris and Buck escaped the fate of their home world because they had been in a battle on another planet. After the rebellion had been quelled by the Alliance,both Chris and Buck had resigned from the military. They founded a crew that salvaged derelicts and transported passengers and cargo across the galaxy. The "Rouge" crew consist of Captain Chris Larabee, SIC Buck Wilmington, Head Engineer Vin Tanner, Pilot J.D. Dunne, Doctor Nathan Jackson, Shepherd Josiah Sanchez and 'Ambassador' Ezra P.Standish.
> 
> Disclaimer: The Magnificent Seven belongs to MGM, Mirsisch,Trilogy,Showtime, Sony Pictures and John Watson. I am only borrowing them for a ride or seven. Firefly belongs to Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox and others not me. This fan fiction is for entertainment purposes only.

Heart of Gold

 **Frisco Moon**

Emily and Li Pong chattered happily as they hung the linens out to dry under the two suns of their chosen homeworld. A sudden whirlwind of dust on the horizon startled the girls into calling out to their mistress, Miss Lydia.

Lydia came out of the house and briskly told the girls to go inside the house.

Emily and Li Pong hurried past Lydia heading for the door of the completely solar sheeted house as a posse of men on horses and a man driving a hover plane stopped in the yard.

Lydia narrowed her eyes and wrapped her shawl tighter around her figure as she stepped in front of the man who descended from the hover-plane. "We're not open for business. And we don't do business with you any more Clovis. You are not welcome here. You've been told that."

The tall, well-dressed cattle baron told Lydia to shut up and then told his men to search for the girl.

Lydia lied that Nora was no longer on the moon because he had chased her off a month or ago.

Clovis smirked evilly as two of his men dragged a sobbing and very pregnant Nora out of the house.

Nora stumbled to her knees as the men forced her ahead to meet their boss.

The cattle baron lifted a hand to brush it against Nora's cheek, Nora twisted her face away and spat out, "Don't touch me!"

Clovis spoke, "Nora, it's a good thing you didn't leave with my baby."

"It isn't your baby!" Nora denied it desperately.

Clovis plunged a hypo spray into Nora's swollen abdomen and said, "If this DNA matches mine then I'll be back for my baby even if I have to cut it out of you myself." Then, he carefully pocketed the hypo spray coldly eyed Miss Lydia and her group of girls who had all come spilling out of the house to encircle and support Nora.

Nora had silent tears running down her face as Lucy, Emily, Inez, Li Pong, Millie, Annie, Blossom, Claire, Rain and Lydia surrounded her.

"We'll get help somehow. He won't take your baby." Lydia said firmly.

Lucy reminded them that no one on Frisco would stand up to Clovis.

"Even if there was, would there be anyone willing to defend us?" Emily sadly added to Lucy's comment.

Lydia had looked away toward the horizon when she heard the quiet voice of her cook, Li Pong say, " I might know someone who could help us."

 **Four Corners Star System near the Outer Rim**

Ezra rolled his shoulders as he strolled under the arch of the ship's galley and stopped as he spotted the Captain sitting at the dining room table sipping at a cup of coffee and writing in what Ezra correctly presumed to the "Captain's Log." He cleared his throat as he fully entered the room.

The entire crew knew it was best to announce your presence or Captain Larabee was apt to shoot you with his blaster if you snuck up on him.

A lesson which Ezra had narrowly avoided learning the hard way.

Chris finished writing and closed the log before he looked up at Ezra and said, "Glad you're back on time, Ezra."

Ezra headed over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup before he replied in a slightly exasperated tone, "Captain Larabee I was only tardy returning once and you know there were extunating circumstances which caused the tardiness. This time my business concluded earlier than anticipated and most satisfactorily too."

Before Chris could reply, J.D. Dunne stood at the galley's arch and announced, "We've got a distress call for..."

Chris ordered, "Patch it through to the communicator in here."

J.D. shook his head slightly and continued, "It's a call for Ezra."

Both Chris and Ezra stared at J.D. for a long moment before Ezra said, "I will take it in my shuttle."

Li Pong ended her plea with, "We can pay you. Will you help?"

Ezra reminded her that he needed to negotiate this situation with the Captain and the rest of the crew. He knew there would be at least two other members of the Rogue crew who would be willing to lend a hand to help the ladies of Frisco. With both Buck and Nathan's support, he was certain Chris Larabee would aid the women with their plight.

On the communicator screen, the young Chinese woman smiled because she was familiar with Mr. Ezra and his negotiations. While Mr. Nathan had been the first man to help her, it had been Mr. Ezra who had brokered her freedom from her unscrupulous uncle.

Several days later on an early Wednesday morning, two aircrafts, one firefly class ship and a shuttle landed on the Frisco moon. One set down close to Lydia's bordello and the other at the Wickes Town space port.

Six men strode off the firefly ship.

A well-dressed man with a gold tooth smile disembarked from the shuttle at the space port.

Since their destination was nearby, the six men continued to walk through the desert-like landscape.

In town, Mayor Wickes watched with interest as a well-dressed man got out of the taxi hover-plane and strode toward the hotel.

About fifteen minutes later, the 'Fancy Dan' emerged from the building, walked across the street and into the saloon.

Wickes strode over to welcome the man. He wanted to study this man close up because he wanted to con him into becoming a financial investor of Clovis's latest weapon, "the silk trigger active return bolt laser with auto adjust."

Inside Lydia's place, Lydia greeted the men graciously offering refreshment and food.

Chris Larabee then introduced Nathan Jackson to all the girls who were present in the front room.

Nathan took one look at Nora and told Chris to fill him in afterwards, since the pregnant woman was looking a mite peaked and the healer wanted to examine her right away.

Chris agreed and Nathan accompanied Nora upstairs.

The red-haired Lydia thanked Nathan and then suggested they speak in her private parlor as other customers began filling up the front room.

Larabee shadowed Lydia as she led the way out of the room.

His four crewmates followed them.

A few minutes later, Lydia bolted the lock on the door of her parlor and turned to find Chris Larabee standing near the back of the room with his arms crossed across his chest and his hazel eyes completely focused on her. With a deceptively relaxed air, Vin Tanner lounged on the setee of the bay window. An alert Buck Wilmington sat on the large sofa, his long legs stretched out in front of him. His booted feet crossed at the ankles. Josiah Sanchez had settled attentively into a comfortable armchair and J.D. Dunne perched on a footstool set at the end of the sofa.

"He's not being reasonable, I take it?" Chris asked.

Lydia sashayed to her favorite chair and sank into it before she answered the question.

"No, Clovis is a taker. His shrew of a wife is barren and can't bear him an heir, so he's got in his head to pull it out of us. And that's not going to happen."

Buck said, "I see that."

"Is the baby his?" Josiah questioned.

The red head responded, "The baby is Nora's. He did favor her pretty exclusively but she did have others. So, fifty-fifty not that it matters, really. Clovis isn't fit to raise a catcus plant."

"What else?" Vin asked as he straightened up.

Lydia wrapped her shawl tighter around herself and said, "You see the way we live here. Go into town, it's the same. Some places come up "rustic" because they don't have more than the basics. Clovis has enough money to build a city, a real community. He keeps people living like this so he can play cowboy. Be the one with the best toys and turn this moon into a gorram theme park. Some have tried to stand up to him and have been burned out. He means to burn me out too."

"We'll do our best to see that it doesn't happen to you." Chris replied. The blond spoke again. "Lydia, do you know where Clovis will be later? I want to let our man in town know."

"You have a man in town?" Lydia exclaimed in surprise.

Hazel eyes gave her a hard look as Chris said, "Yeah, we do but only you know about it, understand?"

Lydia nodded and added, "Clovis and his wife always attend the theater on Wednesday nights."

"J.D. send Ezra an encrypted wave and fill him in on Clovis and the man's whereabouts for the rest of the day." Chris ordered.

"Sure thing,Chris," J.D. responded as he bounced up from the footstool. "Ma'am do you have a holographic emitter and if so, may I please access it?" J.D. asked politely.

Lydia waved him to the corner of the parlor where a holographic emitter was set up. She silently thanked the former client who had more than generously gifted them with the technology a few months back.

Several minutes later, Ezra felt his pocket watch vibrate against his vest which gave him a perfect excuse to extract himself from the company of the obsequious man who had been fawning over him, the last hour or so. But the stout, beady-eyed man who also happened to be the mayor of the town and a font of information, so Ezra bore the man and his amateurish attempts to con him with resignation.  
"Excuse me, Mayor Wickes..." Ezra interrupted Wickes who was about to invite the 'Ambassador' to sup with him so that they could discuss a mutually benefiting business deal. "My apologies, sir but I am remiss in sending my mother a communique of my whereabouts and I must do so at once," said Ezra as he slightly tipped his hat to Wickes.

The Mayor nodded and watched Mr. Fancy Pants stride through the saloon's bat-wing doors. Wickes commed his connection on the nearest core planet. He needed to know more about this man, Standish. Within a half hour, Wickes found out that Ezra Standish was the son of Maude Standish.

Maude Standish was the owner of the "House of Standish" - one of the most prominent and powerful 'Companion' Houses in the Alliance, core planets and guild of 'Companions'. Her 'Ambassadors' were not only highly skilled in the etiquette and life style of being a 'Companion' but also mastered the skills of negotiations and had excellent business acumen.

Maude's son, Ezra Standish had been her best pupil and excelled at his craft. He had the reputation of being one of the most 'sought-after' and charming 'Companions' while also being a savvy, diplomatic 'Ambassador' when negotiating business.

Wickes schemed in his head how he was going to get Ezra Standish together with Clovis.

Meanwhile, Ezra breathed a silent sigh of relief as his boots hit the dusty boardwalk outside the tavern. Once securely ensconced in his hotel room and making sure he would not be interrupted by placing the 'do not disturb' sign on the outside knob of the hotel door, Ezra activated the holographic emitter embedded in his pocket watch. He viewed and listened to J.D.'s transmission carefully.

A plan began to formulate in his cunning mind as Ezra sorted through one of his saddlebags and laid out the items he would need for his evening at the theater. After partaking of a light repast, Ezra readied himself for the evening. Right before he left, Ezra critically stared at his appearance reflected in the full length chevron mirror set in front of him. Ezra slightly straightened the boutonniere camera attached to the lapel of his jacket and minutely adjusted his black onyx cufflinks which were actually voice recorders.

Back in the bordello, an impromptu meeting was taking place between Larabee, his crew, Lydia and some of her girls.

Larabee was clearing the air and outlining a preliminary plan which would be further defined and detailed as soon as they heard from Ezra. But he had a few ideas he wanted to share with Lydia.

Chris Larabee strode around Lydia's parlor as he spoke.

"Our weapons store isn't overpowering at the moment but we can rig up some homemade weapons. Set up booby traps that sort of thing. Might turn Clovis away once but he'll keep coming. Won't stop until he gets what he thinks is his. We can stand and fight or we can run. It's your decision, Lydia."

Lydia rose from her chair and walked over to stand in front of Chris.

"I understand the choices, Captain Larabee. It took me years to cut this piece of territory out of other men's hands...to build up this business from nothing."

Chris interrupted with a soft, "Lydia..."

But Lydia kept on talking, "It's who I am and it's my home. I'm not going anywhere."

Chris responded with, "He'll kill you. He'll kill every last one of your girls, if it comes to that and he'll sleep well that night."

Lydia replied, "Clovis is just a man and I won't let any man take what's mine. I doubt you'd do different in my position."

Larabee said, "You're right. But it had to be your call."

Buck Wilmington sat up straighter on the sofa as he said, "Aw hell, he ain't expectin' much of a fight. Might be we catch him his drawers low."

Vin Tanner took the sawed-off mare's leg out of his thigh holster as he added, "He'll probably ride in by daylight. But I figure three point watch, say, four hour shifts...just to be on the safe side."

Chris nodded at Vin's words and looked over to Josiah Sanchez as Josiah stepped over to stand next to Vin.

Josiah spoke up, "I'm fair handy with a hammer, Captain."

Chris who had crossed his arms over his chest when he had looked at Vin, replied, "That so, Shepherd?"

Josiah gave Chris a slightly sardonic look as he answered, "Been following the footsteps of a carpenter for some time now. I think I can do something about our fortifications."

Vin and Nathan exchanged small grins of their own as a small smile tilted Chris's lips upwards.

Larabee then said, "Okay then. We start shootin'...he'll most likely try to burn us out. Save his sweat and bullets." Shooting Lydia an inquistive look, Chris asked, "Lydia, what's the water supply like here?"

Lydia calmly replied, "Underground well. The pump that draws it up is antiquated but it don't break down."

Chris turned to ask Vin, "Think you can swing an upgrade for their water works?"

Tanner responded that he'd go through their ship and see what "Rogue" had that they might be able to use.

The blond captain began to add, "we might want to scrounge up..." but was cut off when the previously silent J.D. Dunne interrupted him.

J.D. had been quiet and listening to what the others were saying. He also had been sneaking looks at Nora. Pregnancy had given her a glow and the young man thought she was beautiful. So one of his glances toward the young woman, he caught Nora's scrunched up, pain-filled facial expression. J.D. then blurted out loudly, "Nathan! It's starting!"

Nathan stood up and said, "I got it Chris," as he ushered Nora out of the room.

The blond man nodded and told the rest of the room, "okay people, let's get to work."

Later that day, most of the members of the Rogue crew found at Lydia's were busy fortifying the bordello.

Buck and J.D. and Blossom planted various handmade explosives into different patches of and throughout the outside area leading to the entrance of Lydia's house. Then they covered their work by booting more sand on top of the now buried grenades.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Vin instructed Millie and Annie on how to wield some of the guns from his own personal inventory.

 

Chris and Lydia laid some booby traps around the sides and back yard of the house.

Inside Lydia's, Nathan attended to Nora who had gone into premature labor.

Inez and Li Pong helped him.

Josiah boarded up some of the windows of the bordello. Boarding up the last window, Josiah who still held three nails between his lips turned when he heard a soft whisper.

"Shepherd?"

Emily who was working along besides him spoke breaking the silence between them.

Taking the nails out of his mouth, Josiah Sanchez watched her put her hammer down and waited patiently for to continue talking.

The blonde woman began again, "Shepherd, if I fall in this fight, I've been thinking about what I'd like said over me..." She tapered off and looked down.

Blue-grey eyes looked at her a moment then Josiah gently patted her shoulder and said, "I only bury the dead, child. And no one here is gonna die." He went back to hammering nails into the wooden board covering the window.

No one noticed until much later that one of the girls, Lucy was missing. The petite blonde had snuck off to town. She'd really wanted to meet with her lover, Clovis but last week he'd told her that he was going to be with his wife this weekend and so she, Lucy could not directly contact him at all.

Clovis hadn't said anything about talking to his men though, and she hoped to find one of the cattle baron's men at the saloon, so she could warn them about the men at Lydia's. Lucy peered into the saloon and the only one she saw inside was the old bartender wiping down some beer mugs.

Hi ya, Lucy, what can I git ya?"

The petite blonde told him, she'd come into town cause she needed a new hat and wanted to see if Quint was anywhere about. Quint worked for Wickes but since Clovis owned Wickes, Lucy figured Quint worked for Clovis. She frowned when she found out Quint was being 'entertained' upstairs. "Great! I can't wait for him, if I'm gone too long from the bordello, it will raise suspicion," fumed Lucy to herself. Not even saying goodbye to the bartender, Lucy angrily flounced off. She marched off to Conklin's General Store to look for a hat to give credence to her lie. The blonde didn't find any she liked but did find some hair ribbons. Then she spotted two crates.

One was full of sling shots and the other was filled with marbles. Lucy scooped up a handful of each and took them to the counter.

Mr. Conklin quietly added up her purchases and bagged them for her. If he found her purchases odd, he'd keep it to himself. He didn't want to get into trouble with either Wickes or Clovis.

Lucy paid for her items and left the store. She was walking hurriedly down the boardwalk when she spied Clovis and his wife emerging from the restaurant across the street. The blonde quickly backpedaled and hit a human wall. She'd backed up into a gussied up stranger who flashed her a gold toothed smile as he steadied her.

He tipped his black hat to her as she blushed and stuttered out an apology. He brushed it off in a gentlemanly fashion and she ducked into the hotel entrance to hide from Clovis.

Ezra watched her go, there was something vaguely familiar about her but he couldn't place it at the moment. His attention was diverted to across the street when he saw Mayor Wickes greet Mr. & Mrs. Clovis outside the restaurant.

The trio strode toward the Opera House Theater.

Ezra refrained from making a contemptous snort on the actual building housing the theater living up to its pretentious name. Instead he joined a small group of patrons heading toward the theater. As the crowd came upon the Mayor and the Clovis's, Ezra 'accidentally' jostled Mrs. Clovis. He immediately began to apologize profusely and was cut off by Mayor Wickes.

"Mr. Standish, I am sure you did not mean to literally run into the lady's back and a gentleman such as yourself would never have done so if not for the rush of the crowd around you. May I present Mr. and Mrs. Clovis to you?"

Both Clovis's were alerted to the fact that this was the man that Wickes had been telling them about.

Mrs. Clovis waved off Ezra's apology with a gloved hand and patted him on the shoulder, asking, "Would you be any relation to Maude Standish of the House of Standish?"

Graciously capturing Mrs. Clovis's hand and giving the back of her hand a kiss, Ezra answered smoothly. "Ezra Standish at your service. Maude Standish is my mother. Mrs. Clovis, may I say you look lovely this evening."

Mrs. Clovis blushed slightly at the handsome man's words as said man then shook her husband's hand.

Mr. Clovis insisted that Ezra join them in their box and Ezra graciously accepted.

The quartet made their way forward toward the theater. They had just entered the main lobby of the building when Mr. Clovis's mini communicator phone beeped several times.

Mr. Clovis stopped walking and stepped aside slightly. He answered his phone with a clipped, "Yes."

Mrs. Clovis moved off to one side of the main entrance and stopped a few steps ahead of her husband.

Out of courtesy, Ezra and Mayor Wickes halted and waited as well.

Clovis's tone of voice changed as he said, "And there can be no mistake. Good."

"Clovis?" his wife asked softly.

"The D.N.A. matches. The child is mine."

Mayor Wickes whispered to Ezra, "They're having a child and were having trouble with the surrogate mother."

Ezra whispered back that he understood and made a mental note to have J.D. research the verasity of Nora being the surrogate mother of the Clovis's child.

The rest of the evening, Ezra spent observing the Clovis' who were now in very high spirits due to the news of the unborn child's paternity.

During intermission, Ezra managed to slip away and communicate with J.D. and Chris.

J.D. heard Ezra out and told him he was on it in reference to Nora being a surrogate mother. And that he'd go and get Chris.

Nervously swallowing once before he knocked on the locked, closed door of the small private dining room, J.D. called out, "Chris, Ezra's waving on our comm and needs to talk to you."

A few moments, Chris opened the door of the dining room and strode out leaving a disappointed Lydia behind.

Chris quickly opened the comm link which J.D. had set up in the parlor.

"Ezra what's going on?"

Ezra rapidly filled him in on what Clovis had learned that evening and what Wickes had said about the Companion and the baby.

A soft curse fell from the blond man's lips as he heard Ezra's words. Then Chris noticed the small smirk gracing Ezra's face and said, "You've got a plan?"

"The way the Clovis's especially Mr. Clovis is celebrating the news of his paternity has given me an idea on how to delay Clovis's return to the bordello, at least for a day."

Chris smiled slightly as an inkling of what Ezra meant filtered lightening quick through his mind and all he said was, "Watch your back."

Ezra gave him a two-finger salute before breaking the comm link.

Chris shook his head in fond exasperation and thought, "Glad that sneaky son of a gun is on our side."

Meanwhile in the empty dressing room at the opera house, Ezra glanced into the cheval mirror to readjust the pin in his cravet when he spied the blond girl that had run into him earlier standing at the door which was ajar and peeking into the room.

Lucy began to stammer out an apology as she realized that the room wasn't empty and that it was occupied by the man she had nearly run over not so long ago. "I'm sorry Mister, I was just..." before she could continue, she was roughly grabbed by the arm and spun around to face an angry Wickes.

Wickes tore into her, not realizing that Ezra was in the room behind the girl.  
Ezra recognized the Mayor's voice and moved out of sight from the doorway, hiding himself away further inside the dressing room but still able to hear everything Wickes and the girl said. Wickes ranted, "Lucy, what the hell are you doing here? Clovis doesn't want to see you tonight."

Lucy began to protest when another voice cut her off.

"There a problem here, boss?" Quint asked his employer while leering at Lucy.  
Wickes responded with, "Hell yes, Lucy's the problem, get her back to Lydia's bordello before Clovis sees her here."

Quint nodded and roughly yanked Lucy out of Wickes hold.

Lucy kept quiet as she was hurried out of the building because she didn't want to attract Clovis's attention nor the attention of the other patrons of the opera. The blond knew if she caused a scene here, Clovis would be both embarrassed and furious. The last time Lucy had provoked Clovis's temper, he had beaten her up real bad. And she didn't want to live through that experience again.

Wickes watched them go and then wandered off to the bar for a stiff drink.

Inside the dressing room, Ezra pressed the stem of the silk boutonniere attached to his lapel jacket to activiate the private, secure comlink to Chris Larabee.

Chris answered the urgent wave immediately. "Ezra?" he asked.

Ezra didn't waste words. "Clovis has a spy within Lydia's bordello. Her name is Lucy and she is a petite blonde." He continued on to tell Chris about the conversation he had just overhead.

Chris's eyes narrowed. He'd need to tell Lydia about Lucy.

Once Ezra was done speaking he signed off and headed straight for the 'special' bottle of champagne he had ordered for the Clovis's celebration.

The bartender to whom he had spoken earlier nodded at the further instructions which the fancy dan gave him. He would deliver the bottle to the Clovis' and their party. The free champagne was a gift from the owners of the Opera house since the Clovis's were their 500th patrons. He was also to tell them that Ezra had retired for the evening with a courtesan from his mother's house. The bartender grinned at Ezra as Ezra slipped some platinum credits into the pocket of his vest.

Ezra for his part, gave the man a tip of the hat and movied quietly through the crowd milling about, until he stopped beside a reddish brown-haired woman sipping a cocktail and whispered, “Hello Miss Greer.”

Terri Greer turned to see the son of her boss standing beside her. “Ezra, this is a surprise, does Maude know you're here?”

Ezra answered with a, “No and I would prefer to keep it that way but I know my dear mother will find out. I am here now to ask your aid in a delicate situation.” He then moved her aside to a quiet corner of the room and outlined Nora's situation to Terri.

Terri was sympathetic to Nora's situation, she herself had a seven year old daughter Olivia. Olivia had been kidnapped last year by her biological father in order to get her, Terri to take part in a big heist that her ex had planned. The kidnapping and heist had been sabatoged by Ezra and his friends. Terri would gladly help Ezra with this favor he asked.

Wickes spotted Ezra with a good-looking woman and shook his head in amused exasperation as he saw the woman thread her arm with one of Standish's. Standish then escorted her out, all the while laughing and talking with the woman. Wickes knew Ezra would be happily occupied the rest of the night. The Mayor sighed wistfully and made his way back to the Clovis' box.

Meanwhile back at the bordello, Chris had asked J.D. to contact Raphael, Francis and Yosemite and see if they could back them up here.

Vin had added that Chanu and Jonah-Eh were in the next star system over. He continued that they were always ready to help out.

J,D. waved them all and all promptly replied back that they could be at the bordello in the early morning hours, tomorrow morning. J.D. Reported back to Chris on the responses of their friends.

A smirk lifted Chris's lips as he thought about the surprises which awaited Clovis.

The next morning once all the men had their breakfast,

Chris asked J.D. to wave Ezra and they all brain-stormed more defensive strategies.

Lydia had been livid when she found out about Lucy. The red head stalked out of the room, seconds after Chris had finished speaking. She wanted to shoot Lucy now but she knew it would be foolish to tip the girl off that they knew of her ties to Clovis. And they didn't know if Lucy had told Clovis, Wickes and Quint about the Rouges crew. Lydia didn't think the blonde had told anyone about them. Lydia thought Clovis and his posse of men would've been here this morning if they had known.

Late yesterday afternoon, Emily had alerted Lydia that Lucy was gone.

A short time later, Lucy had come back home riding an old horse from the livery in town. The blonde had not had a chance to tell Quint of the men at the bordello becse he had been anxious to return to his 'entertainment', so he had just put Lucy on the old nag and admonished her to stay out of town for the next few days. Lucy had ridden back in a sullen mood. She showed Lydia the slingshots and marbles to account for her trip to town. Lydia had complimented Lucy on her quick thinking.

Lucy would be dealt with, Lydia thought grimly to herself as Li Pong called her back to finish her breakfast.

The red haired woman stopped short as she saw three men still sitting at the kichen table.

Chris, Rafael and Francis were still discussing strategy when she sat down to continue her breakfast.

The next two days flew by.

Lydia kept Lucy busy with clients.

So, Lucy missed Ezra's arrival and very short stay at the bordello that Saturday morning.

Ezra stayed only long enough to briefly confer in person with Chris and to gather some weapons from Vin then both he and J.D. left the bordello and headed off to the Rougue.

It had been decided that they would provide air support and defend the skies above and around Lydia's place.

When Ezra and J.D. arrived at the ship, two men shot at them from inside the cargo hold of the ship. Ezra mimed circling around the ship and nodding silently J.D. slipped around the side.

The pilot then palmed a hidden hatch entrance open and crawled inside the ship. Moments later, Ezra followed him inside. They still heard gunfire. A whispered curse fell from Dunne's lips as one of the men spotted him in the corrider behind the cargo bay.

The man sent a shot toward the steel door seperating the cargo bay and corrider. The shot richoted off the door and hit the man's partner in the shoulder.

“Damn it, Luthor! Watch where you're shootin'. Come on let's get after that kid.” Riley said as he dashed down the corridor.

J.D. had darted and zigged zagged his way up to the cockpit while Ezra had sneaked into the armory. Dunne reached the open hatch of the cockpit and quickly worked some controls on the side panel.

Luthor and Riley cursed long and loud as first one door at an end of a corridor slammed down and then the door on the opposite side of the corrider did the same. Clovis's men were now sealed in and could not get out of that corrider.

J.D. commed Ezra. “Ezra, you anywhere near the medical bay?”

Ezra answered in the affirmative. He listened to J.D.'s idea and implemented it as he reached Nathan's usual domain. Ezra deftly activated Nathan's console and typed in the Doctor's password.

A few seconds later, sleeping gas filled the corrider momentarily housing Luthor and Riley. The gas knocked the henchmen out within a few minutes.

Two minutes later, Ezra arrived at the adjoining corrider to the one holding their univited guests and Ezra peeked through the glass portal of one of the doors.

Their “guests” were out cold and slumped down on the floor.

“Our problem has been neutralized.” Ezra commed J.D.

J.D. acknowledged him before switching to another communication channel and waving Chris at the bordello. Dunne then proceeded to fill Chris in on what had been happening with the ship.

A quiet curse fell from Chris's lips followed by, “Can the ship still fly? Because I'd like to see my sky a little less empty.”

Both Buck and Vin said, “Incoming!” over their comms, seconds later interrupting J.D.'s answer.

“Shit, they've got a machine gun mounted onto Clovis's hovercraft!” Buck exclaimed as he ducked behind a window as the gun spattered bullet holes behind him and Francis who was on the opposite side of the room.

Before Chris could bark out the order, Vin said, “On it!” and from his rooftop position, shot out the man gunning the machine at the house.

Chris hunkered down, aimed his rifle at the horseman nearest Clovis and fired.

Then everyone inside the bordello began to fire.

Gunfire blazed across the land surrounding Lydia's place.

Two booby trapped fences were triggered by some of Clovis's men riding by and sprang up on either side of the riders. The barbed wire attached to the fence posts stretched taut between them and hit several riders at chest or torso level as they rode by. The riders were knocked off their horses and their horses galloped off, riderless. Two men lay unmoving while one crawled unsteadily away.

Clovis eyed them then started shooting his laser gun across the side of the second story of the bordello.

Red laser bolts shattered and splintered the wood above Chris and Rafael's heads. “Damn lasers.” Chris muttered as Rafael said the same thing in Spanish.  
“Josiah and Jonah-Eh second hurdle!” Chris hissed out before shooting another of Clovis's men off his horse.

Josiah and Jonah-Eh rose up on the pedestal platform emerging from one side of the bordello. Jonah-Eh rapidly fired off shots at the hooves of the horses circling around them. Josiah lifted the hose in his hands and sprayed the riders with wave after wave of ice cold water. Jonah-Eh raised his gun and shot a rider charging toward them. The rider flew backwards off his horse and the horse reared up crashing into the horse and rider next to him.

Buck and Francis heard the boom of Vin's mare leg and saw another of Clovis's men fall. They kept their own weapons barking bullets. A sudden, pained yelp from Francis had Buck whirling around. Francis had blood dripping from a graze furrowing his left upper arm. “You need Nathan?” asked the mustached man as he fired off another round. Francis gritted his teeth and said, “No.”  
“Okay.” Buck said. The big man overheard Chris asking J.D. where the hell his spaceship was when he heard the “Rogue” flying overhead with her cannon guns roaring.

The comm in Buck's ear crackled with Chris's voice. “Buck, I've lost sight of Clovis.” Buck did his own quick visual sweep across the yard of the Bordello. “I have too.” The tall man ran into the cellar entrance of Lydia's Place and dashed up the stairs.

Minutes earlier, Clovis had gotten in to the bordello through the back entrance of the house.

Lucy scurried away from him after she quickly closed the door she had just opened.

The cattle baron hurried to the second floor of the building and headed straight to Nora's room.

Yosemite had stepped outside of Nora's room to give the young mother privacy while she nursed her newborn son. He spun around when he heard footsteps clattering up the stairs and was clobbered on the back of the head by a cast by a cast iron skillet . Yosemite slumped down on the floor.

Clovis dropped the heavy pan and it clanked on the floor. He stepped over the legs of the sprawled prone man on the floor and pushed through the door into Nora's room.

Nathan threw one of his long wicked-looking sharp knives at Clovis and the knife embedded itself into Clovis's right upper thigh.

Clovis reflexively shot the laser gun and the bolt blasted Lydia who had just stepped in front of him.

Nathan had immediately covered Nora with his own body.  
Inez who was also in the room scooped up the baby from his cradle and cuddled him to her chest. She was backing out of the room when Clovis elbowed her in her side. Inez doubled over, her back protecting the baby from Clovis.

Clovis was about to wrangle the newborn from the dark-haired woman when he heard boots racing across the floor below them. He tried to shove Inez 's arms and body away from the baby one last time.

Inez fell to her knees but didn't let go of the child.

Clovis spat out curses as he heard the door on the end of the hallway outside splinter and a man rushed in. The frustrated man dashed out through another door and made it out of the bordello. Clovis jumped into his hovercraft and sped off towards Wickes Town.

Buck ran into the shambles of Nora's room and stopped short at the sight of Lydia's lifeless body.

“Inez, you alright?” The mustached man asked softly.

She knelt next to Lydia, the baby laying quietly in her arms. Inez looked up mutely into Buck's face.

Buck's face hardened even more as he took in the look of devestation in Inez's eyes. Glancing one last time at Lydia, Buck told Nathan to watch over Nora, Inez and the baby. He then tore out of the room after Clovis. Out of the corner of his eye, Buck saw the others rounding up most of Clovis's remaining men. Damn it looked like Ezra had dislocated his shoulder again. Buck didn't bother calling out to them. They still had a job to do. He had something he had to do. He spotted one of the miscreants as Ezra liked to call them raising a gun. Buck shot the man clean off his horse and vaulted onto the horse himself. Spurring the horse into a gallop, he was soon not too far behind Clovis.

Clovis felt and heard the hooves of a horse pounding the earth. How dare someone chase him down? thought Clovis to himself. He turned and fired several laser bolt shots in Buck's direction.

Buck ducked low over the reins of his horse as the laser shots went wide around him.

Clovis grimaced as the laser bolt gun jammed and wouldn't discharge any more bolts. He read the weapon's meter which said, “Check the battery.” He put the bolt gun back in the inside pocket of his jacket.

At that moment, Buck drew up alongside the hovercraft. The mustached man jumped out of the saddle and onto the hovercraft.

The hovercraft couldn't handle the weight of the two men and tilted precariously to one side as Buck hauled Clovis out of the hovercraft. The two men fell onto the desert ground rolling over several times locked in a fierce struggle.  
Buck angrily said, “You're going to pay for what you did.”

Clovis looked at him disdainfully and answered, “She was just a whore.”

Buck gave Clovis a disgusted look and then let fly a pwerful right hook which knocked Clovis out.

A few moments later Buck hefted a woozy Clovis to his feet and dragged him back to the bordello.

Chris met Buck and his prisoner at the edge of the yard. Larabee took a long look at the two men and told Buck that he had done good as he tied up Clovis's hands behind his back. Chris and Buck then frog marched Clovis over to the part of the yard where Clovis's remaining men were being held.

Clovis was roughly shoved to his knees but was still defiant and arrogant. He yelled out, “Nora, you bring my baby out right now! I want to see my son!”

Nora came out holding her baby son within one of her arms. She stared at Clovis than at her baby as she spoke, “Johnny, say hello to your daddy.” She then raised a gun with her free hand and shot Clovis who fell dead at her feet. “Say goodbye to your daddy, Johnny.” Nora said. Taking a few steps away from Clovis, Nora whirled around to face the remaining members of Clovis's posse. “Go on. Go on home!” Nora cried out. The gun still in her hand was now pointed at Lucy and Nora ordered, “You go with them.”

Lucy stared at her for a few moments before silently walking away.

Many of the other girls just gazed on in shock and distress.

A couple of days later, Lydia was buried under a huge, old oak tree on the far side of the Bordello. All her girls and the entire Rougue crew plus Rafael, Yosemite, Francis, Chanu and Jonah-Eh were also in attendance. Shepherd Josiah Sanchez was honoured to say a few words during the ceremony.

About an hour or so after, the Rougue lifted off and headed back into deep space. Buck and Ezra were sipping coffee in the galley.

Buck put his mug down on the dining table and said, “I think those girls 'll do alright.”

Ezra agreed with him. “She taught them well.”

Both men got to their feet as they heard Nathan heading in their direction.

“Shall we adjourn to my shuttle before our esteemed doctor finds us here drinking caffeine when he expressly prohibited it?” Ezra asked.

“Yeah.” Buck answered as he limped after Ezra.

The End


End file.
